"I'LL DO WHAT I DO BEST!" Roman shouted over the blaring winds as he approached Ruby. He raised a hand and began to count.

"LIE!"

Roman was a few paces away from Ruby.

"STEAL!"

Roman stood in front of Ruby and placed his left hand back on his cane.

"AND SURVI-!"

CHOMP!

"That couldn't have gone worse." Roman's bodiless voice complained, a black void surrounding him. He found himself here after being swallowed whole by a Griffon, not the fanciest way to die.

"Imagine it, Roman Torchwick, the Greatest Criminal in History, eaten by a Grimm. It isn't catchy enough." Roman muttered, an invisible hand rubbing his face.

Indeed, let's try again shall we?

"Okay... Now death's getting weirder and weirder." Roman looked around for the strange voice he heard before two buttons appeared before him.

Try Again? Exit

Roman raised a visible eyebrow.

"Try Again, sureeeeeeeee..." Roman trailed off as his finger bounced against the try again button and his presence vanished from the void, as well as his voice.

Among the dead...

A gravestone stood with the words Roman Torchwick above. It appeared hastily sculptured with dried tear stains on it.

A gloved hand shot out of the dirt, reaching out and clasping and opening itself. Torchwick's head followed with him taking deep, heavy breaths, as though he had begun to breathe for the first time in forever.

"Fucking hell..." Roman usually never swore, because he never saw the point of it, but he felt this situation was special for just one.

He lay on his back, breathing deeply for a minute before he got up, unsteadily.

A window appeared before him, one he remembered from a game he played a long time ago.

Items gained!

1x Estus Flask - A drink favoured by Hollows and the Cursed, this liquefied fire restores a large portion of HP and cures all status effects. Upgraded through special items.

10x Blood Vial - A vial containing Grimm Blood, drink while Grimmified to heal a moderate amount of HP and provide temporary boosts to stats and resistances. Will Grimmify if drunk while Whole.

1x Melodic Cudgel (Enchanted, Multi-Purpose) - The signature weapon of the late and (Infamously) great Roman Torchwick, who was eaten by a Griffon 30 years ago. Enchantment to be determined. Unable to determine other purposes.

1x Gambler's Suit (Enchanted) - The signature outfit of the late and (Infamously) great Roman Torchwick, who was eaten by a Griffon 30 years ago. Enchantment to be determined.

1x Bowler's Hat (Enchanted) - The signature hat of the late and (Infamously) great Roman Torchwick, who was eaten by a Griffon 30 years ago. Enchantment to be determined.

1x Darksign - A un-removeable curse assigned to those who accept a Grimm fate. Will eventually permanently Grimmify you, if you possess your sapience afterwards is to be determined later...

1x Portable Bonfire - Once, sitting at a Bonfire was a way to return home from a dark and terrifying place. Now, it is merely a place of respite. Placing this and sitting by it will completely restore HP, Stamina and refill your Estus Flask(s) or fast travel to areas you have been to before. This cannot be done during any type of combat and is an exclusive item, there is no way to get another.

1x Damaged Humanity - In a place untouched by light and doomed to fall to darkness, the Gods filled their essence into small charred effigys to allow those who have lost their Humanity to regain it to try and stop the darkness from consuming all. Although what is lost, is not easily retrieved. Once a powerful trinket from a place of terror, this Humanity has been damaged and it's effect has been weakened. Will turn you into a Half-Grimm.

1x Destiny Piece: Regret (Pawn) - An artefact from a place forgotten by time, this strange chess piece will return you to a time of great importance, once. Be careful, for this item will permanently place you there and the actions, and consequences, are yours to partake in.

1x Rememberance Letter - A habit humans and faunas have partook in for a long time, writing a letter filled with a person's true feelings is sometimes easier than saying it to their target's face. Or they may have been too late in telling them, and lost their chance forever... This particular letter was written by Neo 30 years ago to her partner, Roman Torchwick, after his sudden and unexpected death.

1x Bleeding Something - A spherical object that drips blood constantly, a use can not be discerned by simply gazing upon it, but your cursed soul fears it.

1x Bonfire Recipe - A sheet of old paper with detailed steps on creating a bonfire. Careful, for your permanent Grimmification speeds up with every new bonfire placed.

Roman's eyebrows furrowed as he looked upon the items, specifically his outfit and weapon's description and the letter. After looking down to confirm he was indeed clothed in his outfit and holding Melodic. He thought upon the letter and wanted it in his hand. He clasped paper when it appeared and he brought it to his face.

Dear Roman,

I was never very good at remembering things, you helped me to forget my childhood after all, but I'll make an exception for your passing.

You were cocky, you were overbearing, you were condescending and all around a jerk, but you did it all brilliantly.

Don't steal everything in hell before I get there.

Neopolitian

Roman blinked as tears rushed to his eyes and wiped his eyes with his sleeve as he put the letter away.

He wasn't ashamed to admit that before, during and after Cinder appeared, Neo was his faithful partner-in-crime. After Cinder appeared, he was hounded by the everlasting presence of a toasty death.

The window disappeared suddenly and Roman jumped.

HIDE!

Startled, Roman jumped into the nearest shadows. The shadows thickened to the point that even he could not see the ground, despite standing on it.

He waited for a few seconds before someone walked around the corner, and his eyes widened in recognition.

Grey hairs began to edge their way into her hair and she was a few inches taller, but it was unmistakeable who was visiting his grave.

Neo.

Her lithe body stood in front of his grave before she sat down and stared at his grave.

Words appeared over her head.

Neopolitian

LV. 92

Title: Walks Alone In Dangerous Times

He blinked as a million things ran through his head. Greetings, snarks.

But one thing tugged at the back of his mind, the need for violence.

A slight desire to bash her skull in with Melodic arose and he blinked before sucking a breath audibly and shaking his head.

Neo stood up, span and faced him.

Only then did he see her face.

Both her eyes were shut, the skin seemingly melted by what seemed like acid, her mouth was lopsided, one side open, and many of her teeth were missing. The teeth that remained were rotted yellow or black and her skin was very pale, like she wasn't getting enough blood around her body.

Roman almost vomited at the sight of her, except that her mouth was steadily filling with blood.

He felt... Hungry. Animalistic even.

Before he could finish the thought, a powerful desire ran through him, and he charged straight at her.

Her reaction was to simply kneel in preparation for death. He growled viciously and slammed Melodic across her jaw with strength he knew he didn't have before.

Neo's jaw dislocated and cracked, her head flung to the side and she dropped to the floor, unmoving. Roman stood over and started to repeatedly bash the back of her head in with his cane, his teeth clenched tight and spittle being flung from his mouth as he swung.

After about a minute, Roman's body couldn't take anymore fatigue, and he flopped down next to the body, where the animal finally retreated. Roman saw exactly what he did.

He rolled over to his elbows and knees and began to vomit profusely, blood replacing digested food after half a minute. After puking up blood for a minute, he finally stopped and began to cry, babbling apologies to himself.